Kistner broke open a close game in third inning with a grand slam home run as the Tigers went on to beat league opponent Mansfield, 11-1, on a picture perfect, spring day at Jack Tripp Field.

“There were people on base and I felt I had to get them home,” Kistner said about her grand slam. “The first pitch was kind of bad and the third one, I felt I had to hit it.”

Taunton ace Jesse Aleixo pitched the first five innings for her 13th victory of the season — most in the Hockomock League. She fanned five and induced eight ground ball outs in 54 pitches. Kistner came on in relief to pitch the final two innings.

“She has been keeping her pitch count down,” Tigers head coach Dave Lewry said. “Jesse is going to be throwing a lot over the next month and half. Any rest I can give her, it is helpful.”

Kelly Reading led the offense for Taunton (15-1; 12-1 in Hockomock) with three hits and a run scored. Kailey March, Kya Enos and Kistner each contributed a pair of hits in the victory.

With the score 1-0 in favor of the Tigers, Mansfield starter Maddie Letendre was looking at trouble in the bottom of the third. March and Reading each singled then MacKenzie Navarro was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Letendre got the first out on a force play at the plate but then Kistner blasted a 1-1 pitch high and deep over the second fence in left field for a grand slam to give Taunton a 5-0 lead.

“That’s exactly what we needed,” Lewry said. “We were struggling to score some runs. For her to hit a grand slam like that, everyone just focused, relaxed and went from there.”

Enos capped a 10-batter inning with a bloop hit to right that drove in Giovanna Diminico and Meghan Navarro to make the score 7-0.

The Hornets (7-8) — who lost five games by three runs or less this season — committed four errors in Monday’s game, leading to five unearned runs.

“They’re good,” Hornets head coach Jinneane Sperrazza said about Taunton. “They can hit but we did not help ourselves either. We came unglued a couple of times where one error turned into two runs. Taunton can hit the ball and they will go far in the tournament. That grand slam was a momentum changer. I felt we got a little deflated. As a team, we get a little rattled.”

Page 2 of 2 - Taunton added two runs in the fifth and sixth innings sandwiched around Mansfield’s lone run for the final outcome.

The Tigers have six batters who are in the top 10 in batting for the Hockomock League this year before the Hornets matchup. Those batters combined for seven of Taunton’s 13 hits on the afternoon.

“We have been hitting one through nine,” Lewry said. “That makes a difference. There is no automatic out on our team.”

Kistner, who began the day hitting .444, had this to say after the game.